An 80-year-old pre- and post-matriculation hostel building for girls from the Scheduled Castes, which is named after Dalit reformer and freedom fighter Kudmul Ranga Rao, at PVS Circle here, has been demolished for constructing a new building.
The building was built in 1940 on land given by the family members of Kudmul Ranga Rao.
A new five-storey hostel will be constructed at a cost of ₹ 8 crore. It will be ready in a year, Dakshina Kannada District Social Welfare Officer Yogish S.B. said.
Nearly 200 students were studying in the hostel. Apart from helping students in their academics, the hostel provided facilities for them to train themselves in art forms, including Bharatanatyam.
After a part of the building collapsed, the department submitted a proposal in 2017 for reconstruction.
It was in January 2018 that students were moved out of the building and housed in a rented building in Kodical. In view of the COVID-19 situation, there are no students in the hostel now, as they have gone back to their houses.
Six months ago, the State government made budgetary allocation for the reconstruction of the building.
The construction work will start shortly.
“We hope to see the new building ready for use in the next academic year,” Mr. Yogish said. The new building will have rooms with wardrobes and study tables.
Provision has been made for library, gymnasium and an assembly hall, he said.
The department has pre-matriculation and post-matriculation hostels for Scheduled Castes boys in Kadri in the city.
There is also a pre-matriculation hostel for girls near Urwa Marigudi.